The Great Depression: (Chapters 25-26) Summary: After the stock market crash in October 1929 the nation now faced the most severe economic time period in US history. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Roosevelt's economic recovery plan, the New Deal instituted unprecedented programs for relief, recovery and reform, and brought about a major realignment of American politics.
Key Terms:
Stock Market Boom: the average price of stock rose 40% and tradings rose from 2-3 million shares a day up to 5-10 million Black Tuesday: October 29th, 1929; 16 million shares were traded & stocks become almost worthless The Dust Bowl: one of the worst droughts in history where 1/3 of farmers lost their land and their income declined 60%. Many had to leave to look for work and traveled to CA African American Depression: many had to leave their land because of eviction and moved to the South for work but had “second right” to jobs Radio: Was used throughout the country and was often a community experience. FDR would speak his speeches through the radio also known as fire side chats Voluntary Corporation: asked businessmen not to lay off workers but raise wages and create better hours Agricultural Marketing Act: a program proposed to construct a program to assist the already troubled agricultural economy NAACP: an interracial membership organization, founded in 1909, that is devoted to civil rights and racial justice as well as improving the legal, educational, and economic lives of African Americans FDIC: (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insured savings accounts in banks approved by the government. If an FDIC bank failed, the government would repay the depositors their money REA: (Rural Electrification Administration) loaned money to extend electricity to rural areas CCC: (Civilian Conservation Corps) provided jobs for single men between the ages of 18 and 25. They developed new parks, built bridges, planted trees, and helped with flood control projects AAA: (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) helped farmers when income dropped. It stated that the government would pay the farmers for not producing crops NIRA: (National Industrial Recovery Act) attempted to make structural changes in the industrial sector of the economy and to alleviate unemployment with a public works program TVA: (Tennessee Valley Authority) provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Vally PWA: (Public Works Administration) built large-scale public works such as dams and bridges, warships, hospitals and schools to provide employment, stabilize purchasing power, and help revive the economy CWA: (Civil Works Administration) created manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed civilians; the jobs were merely temporary and lasted for the duration of the hard winter FERA: (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) was alleviating household unemployment by creating new unskilled jobs in local and state government National Labor Relations Act/Wagner Act: 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes Indian Reorganization Act: aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility Fair Labor Standards Act: Fair Labor Standards Act, children under sixteen years of age may not work during school hours, and, by law, limits are set on the number of hours of employment allowed on each school day and cumulatively for each school week. Black Cabinet: a number of black influential leaders who had a voice in federal policy
Notes/Statistics:
The nation lost $14 billion on black Tuesday and an astounding $30 billion by the end of the week; ten times more than the annual federal budget and far more than the U.S. had spent in WWI
Thirty billion dollars would be equivalent to $377,587,032,770.41 today.
After the initial crash there was a wave of suicides in NY
The causes of the Great depression, widely debated, include a weak banking system, overproduction, a bursting credit bubble, and the fact that farmers & industrial workers had not shared in the prosperity of the 1920s
Estimated that nearly 50% of children during the Great Depression did not have adequate food, shelter, or medical care
What were the factors that led to US declination? ~ Lack of diversity ~ Uneven distribution of wealth ~ Credit structure of the economy ~ International trade
Explain some of the hardships farmers of America had to face during the Great Depression. ~ many had to leave their homes ~ many wandered from town to town looking for handouts ~farming basically was nonexistent in the mid-west
How did the depression affect the entire world? ~ the effects on the world were almost identical to those of the US ~ stock market crash, like in the US, occurred in parts of Europe and Asia
Summary:
After the stock market crash in October 1929 the nation now faced the most severe economic time period in US history. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Roosevelt's economic recovery plan, the New Deal instituted unprecedented programs for relief, recovery and reform, and brought about a major realignment of American politics.
Key Terms:
Stock Market Boom: the average price of stock rose 40% and tradings rose from 2-3 million shares a day up to 5-10 millionBlack Tuesday: October 29th, 1929; 16 million shares were traded & stocks become almost worthless
The Dust Bowl: one of the worst droughts in history where 1/3 of farmers lost their land and their income declined 60%. Many had to leave to look for work and traveled to CA
African American Depression: many had to leave their land because of eviction and moved to the South for work but had “second right” to jobs
Radio: Was used throughout the country and was often a community experience. FDR would speak his speeches through the radio also known as fire side chats
Voluntary Corporation: asked businessmen not to lay off workers but raise wages and create better hours
Agricultural Marketing Act: a program proposed to construct a program to assist the already troubled agricultural economy
NAACP: an interracial membership organization, founded in 1909, that is devoted to civil rights and racial justice as well as improving the legal, educational, and economic lives of African Americans
FDIC: (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insured savings accounts in banks approved by the government. If an FDIC bank failed, the government would repay the depositors their money
REA: (Rural Electrification Administration) loaned money to extend electricity to rural areas
CCC: (Civilian Conservation Corps) provided jobs for single men between the ages of 18 and 25. They developed new parks, built bridges, planted trees, and helped with flood control projects
AAA: (Agricultural Adjustment Administration) helped farmers when income dropped. It stated that the government would pay the farmers for not producing crops
NIRA: (National Industrial Recovery Act) attempted to make structural changes in the industrial sector of the economy and to alleviate unemployment with a public works program
TVA: (Tennessee Valley Authority) provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Vally
PWA: (Public Works Administration) built large-scale public works such as dams and bridges, warships, hospitals and schools to provide employment, stabilize purchasing power, and help revive the economy
CWA: (Civil Works Administration) created manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed civilians; the jobs were merely temporary and lasted for the duration of the hard winter
FERA: (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) was alleviating household unemployment by creating new unskilled jobs in local and state government
National Labor Relations Act/Wagner Act: 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes
Indian Reorganization Act: aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility
Fair Labor Standards Act: Fair Labor Standards Act, children under sixteen years of age may not work during school hours, and, by law, limits are set on the number of hours of employment allowed on each school day and cumulatively for each school week.
Black Cabinet: a number of black influential leaders who had a voice in federal policy
Notes/Statistics:
Extra Notes:
Notes 1
Notes 2
Questions to Think About
What were the factors that led to US declination?~ Lack of diversity
~ Uneven distribution of wealth
~ Credit structure of the economy
~ International trade
Explain some of the hardships farmers of America had to face during the Great Depression.
~ many had to leave their homes
~ many wandered from town to town looking for handouts
~farming basically was nonexistent in the mid-west
How did the depression affect the entire world?
~ the effects on the world were almost identical to those of the US
~ stock market crash, like in the US, occurred in parts of Europe and Asia
Video Clips
Video 1Video 2
Video 3